George Washington Papers
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https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-27-02-0141

From George Washington to Major General Horatio Gates, 18 July 1780

To Major General Horatio Gates

Head qrs [Preakness, N.J.] July 18th 1780

sir

I have been informed by a Letter, with which His Excellency Governor Jefferson has just honoured me, that the Legislature of Virginia had a Bill depending before them, for raising Five Thousand Men to serve Eighteen months, for supplying their Battallions; and I have been requested by him to make some provision for Officering them.1 No mode has occurred to me more proper for the present, than the One inclosed—and it is my desire if this reaches You before You leave Fredericksburg or Richmd that You will direct it to be carried into execution.2 It is possible there may be more Officers in the State than those contained in the Arrangement; if so it will be so much the better—and they will be distributed among the Corps—except the 9th—under the restrictions I have mentioned.3 You will feel the necessity of the strictest attention being paid to disciplining the Drafts—and will impress it and the practice—on the Officers. I shall be happy to hear how the Levies collect and the progress made in forming them: And as frequent communications of events happening in different quarters may materially influence and facilitate our measures in every part—I will also add that I shall be happy to hear from You very Often, and to receive advices both with respect to the movements and situation of the Enemy. and those on your own part. It is frequently of as much importance to know what is not doing—as to receive the most precise information of active operations. Yr Most Obedt sert

Go: Washington

P.S.4 I have the pleasure to inform You that the Fleet from France arrived at Rhode Island the afternoon of the 10th. Adml Greaves has since arrived, on the 13th, with Six Ships of the line off Sandy Hook.5

Df, in Robert Hanson Harrison’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. The draft is addressed to Gates at Fredericksburg or Richmond, Va., or “in case of his absence from those places,” to Brig. Gen. Peter Muhlenberg (see GW to Muhlenberg, this date; see also GW to Thomas Jefferson, this date).

1See Jefferson to GW, 2 July, and n.4 to that document. Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson had indicated to the Committee at Headquarters in a letter of 2 July that the act was to raise 5,000 men, but the measure actually passed on 12 July authorized only 3,000 men (see Jefferson Papers description begins Julian P. Boyd et al., eds. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. 41 vols. to date. Princeton, N.J., 1950–. description ends , 3:476–77).

2Congress had appointed Gates to the command of the southern department (see Samuel Huntington to GW, 13 June; see also Gates to GW, 21 June).

The enclosed document has not been identified. In an undated draft arrangement, GW assigned officers to the 2d, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th Virginia regiments and directed that the 5,000 drafts were to be disposed in equal proportions to each regiment. The 9th Virginia Regiment, which had its own officers, was also to receive a portion of the drafts (DLC:GW).

3In his draft arrangement, GW specified that any men not taken captive at Charleston, S.C., were to be included when leveling the regiments. He also directed that unless sufficient drafts assembled “at once” to make all the regiments effective, the regiments were to be filled to 504 rank and file “in order of their numbers, beginning with No. 2 first. This number tho not a full proportion of the 5000 Men voted will make them respectable, and by filling them one after Another, place them in a condition to act.”

4The words “July 19th” are crossed out at this point on the draft.

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